Not sure if anyone else mentioned this but with UGI you can enroll in a payment assistance program to get an even bill every month.

Mine stays at $160 a month year round based on their calculations. You might pay a little more in off seasons but there's no surprises from what I've noticed.

You must have skipped the Industrial Revolution history lessons about how messed up child labor was back then and why they made these sort of laws in the first place.